Articles/Interviews

All of the articles below were scanned by your's truly, and they all came from The Newsies Banner, the promotional newspaper that was given out at the theatrical release of Newsies.

1. Kenny Ortega : Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, Gotta Direct

2. Practice Makes Perfect

3. The Musical Tale of Christian Bale

4. Betting it on 'Racetrack'

Here are some more articles that I found in random places on the internet; a few of them I found on my own but were too big to scan... so I just typed them up. Enjoy their informativeness. :)

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Newsies - Newsies Breaks Into Song and Dance

On April 10th, Walt Disney Pictures brings the exciting story of the 1899 newsboy strike to the screen in "Newsies," a fun-filled musical adventure. Inspired by the true story of kids who went head-to-head with the power of the press and won, "Newsies" is a tale of friendship and courage set to energizing music and spectacular dance.

In this fictionalized account, a group of young newsboys called newsies use the only power they have againts newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer- the power to strike. When Pulitzer, owner of the New York World newspaper, raises his prices, it threatens the livelihood of these hardworking kids. Outraged by his injustice, the kids take matters into their own hands. And the newsies strike is born!

"Newsies" villian Joseph Pulitzer is devilishly portrayed by Acadamy Award-winner Robert Duvall whose notable career has included roles in "Tender Mercies," "The Great Santini," "The Godfather" and "Rambling Rose."

Opposing Joseph Pulitzer and supporting the newsies is Swedish vaudville singer and dancer Medda, played by Anne Margret. The Academy Award-nominated actress is best known for her roles in such favorites as "Bye Bye Birdie," "Carnal Knowledge," and "Tommy."

The idea for "Newsies" began in 1985 when screenwriters Bob Tzudiker and Noni White were inspired by a New York Times story about a turn-of-the-century newsboys' strike. The wirters brought the idea to movie producer Mike Finnell, who loved it and wanted to make it a musical.To bring to the screen and 1890's story with an MTV beat, Mike approached Kenny Ortega to join the project as its director and choreographer. Kenny, best known for his innovative choreography in "Dirty Dancing," was the perfect choice to create a stylish contemporary musical and thrilled to be a part of the excitement.

Finally, Acadamy Award-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist Jack Feldman were enlisted to write the eights songs in "Newsies." Alan Menken recently won two Golden Globe Awards for his score and title song (written by Howard Ashman) for Walt Disney Pictures' "Beauty and the Beast."

"Newsies" strikes up dazzling explosion of song and dance, making it the film event of the year.

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Christian Bale - Interview by Kevin Koffler

Christian Bale lumbers into a conference room on a rainy Saturday morning. He plops down in a chair, yawns, and wipes sleep from his eyes. Dressed in black jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers, he apologises for being late. "I'm just getting over the flu and I'm still jet-lagged," he explains, "so I'm moving a little slowly."

But the six-foot-two British-born actor, best known for his film debut as a young school boy in Steven Spieberg's epic Empire of the Sun and more recently for Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, need not apologize. For the past few weeks, he's been flying round and round from L.A. to London to Prague and back again.

"I've been doing reshoots for Newsies here, doing preproduction work on a new film, Swing Kids, in Prague, and visiting my mom, sister, and girlfriend in England. And I don't even like to fly!" he says with a slight shudder. "Before I came here, I flew on a plane that sounded like it had a window open the whole time."

When Bale first heard about Newsies, a live-action musical recounting the tale of the New York newsboys' strike of 1899, he claims he had no interest in auditioning for the project. "I'd never sung or danced, and I didn't think I could do a musical," he says. "I read for the film in England, and then Disney flew me to Los Angeles for a screen test. But before I signed a contract, I met the director [Kenny Ortega] and told him I wasn't comfortable with the dancing and singing and I didn't want to be a bloody Artful Dodger in a remake of Oliver!, jumping down the street with a big smile on my face. But he told me it wouldn't be like that, and he lied to me about all of these different actors who had done musicals, like Al Pacino."

After he was cast as Jack Kelly, the head newsie, Bale joined the rest of the film's actors and dancers in two months of "Newsies school." He studied dancing, speaking with a New York accent (circa 1899), gymnastics, and karate. "We had a kung-fu master," he recalls with a laugh. "Thirty of us would be in a room doing something like t'ai ching to this humming music. It's very relaxing, but when you see yourself in the mirror, it's really funny.

"Filming Newsies was a blast," he says. "By the time the cameras started rolling, we were so prepared we were ready for anything. The blend of technically great dancers and actors with great charaterizations made it all work perfectly." And what about his Oliver! Fear? "Sure, we're singing and dancing in the streets," he says, "but we don't always have smiles on our faces."

Immediately upon finishing Newsies, Bale flew to Prague to begin Swing Kids, which costars Robert Sean Leonard and Frank Whaley. "It's set in 1930's Hamburg, Germany," the eighteen-year-old explains. "There was quite a big culture then among teenagers who liked to dress in zoot suits and go to swing clubs. The story is about three friends from different backgrounds who love swing music. I play the bad seed."

In between movies, Bale tries to squeeze in time with his family and girlfriend. "I've been going with the same girl for three years," he says shyly. "But she's going to a university in England and I'm relocating to Los Angeles, where my father lives. If I had nothing to do with the film industry, I'd stay in England, but Bournemouth (the city where he's lived for the past five years) isn't exactly the film capital of the world."

If he never made another movie, however, Bale says he wouldn't mind a noncelebrity life. "I love making movies," he concludes, "but I also like my privacy. If it all ended tomorrow, I'd just live by the sea and be perfectly happy."

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David Moscow - Interview by Malissa Thompson

You know, it's amazing what a role in a musical can do for a guy's social life. Before making Newsies, David Moscow was your basic drag when it came to dancing with girls. "It used to be I was the guy at the school dance who was up against the back wall thinking, No way," says the high school senior, who's currently attending a private school in East Harlem, New York. But now when Moscow, who made his film debut as the young Tom Hanks in Big, hits the dance floor, he's got girls lined up for days. It's a classic case of cause and effect, really. See, in between learning how to take "crazy hard" punches in the stomach for his Newsies role, Moscow also had to get some serious Gene Kelly moves down. After three months of grueling rehearsals (everything from martial arts to tap dancing), Moscow says, "I've never been in better shape - but I've also never hurt so much." So what happens when a girl asks David to bust a move these days? "It's cool. I used to go to clubs because they were dark and crowded and nobody could see how bad I was," says the seventeen-year-old. "Now when I see somebody doing a hot move, I'm not scared to try it and I can pick it up. But," adds the actor, "I'm not amazing or anything." That's what you think.

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Max Casella - Interview by Malissa Thompson

Max Casella had me totally fooled. I mean, for three years I felt really sorry for Doogie Howser, M.D.'s best bud, Vinnie, the bumbling, gawky, insecure kid whose greatest fear in life is girls. Casella is so convincing, I bet he gets tons of advice-filled letters from his supportive fans. Well, that kind of sympathy will be history when you get a look at Casella's film debut in Newsies. While the twenty-four- year-old actor may not be tall, dark, and handsome (but he's really cute) as some of his costars, Casella definitely steals the spotlight on more than one occasion, playing Racetrack, a nervy, devious gambler. "I loved making this movie," admits the Massachusetts native. "But the best thing was getting into the role, collecting the props, dressing the part. And," he adds in a heavy New York accent, "it was really easy for me to grasp the New Yawk accent." Casella even went so far as to smoke cigars. "I knew not to inhale them," he says, "but I had a bad time of it. They're pretty nasty." When Casella's not in front of the camera, he likes to spend time watching boxing matches, listening to the blues, or brushing up on one of his favorite pastimes: serenading his girlfriend with his guitar. Is this guy cool or what? Sorry, Max, but you don't get any more sympathy from moi.

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Aaron Lohr - Interview by Teen Beat

TEEN BEAT: Tell us about Newsies.

AARON LOHR: Newsies takes place in 1899 and it's about how the newsboys strike against William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. They form a labor union. The whole movie is singing and dancing, acting, gymnastic and stunts.

TEEN BEAT: You do all your own stunts and stuff?

AARON: Yes. I've been dancing, acting and doing gymnastics since I was 3.

TEEN BEAT: Tell us about your Newsies character, Mush.

AARON: Mush is always looking on the bright side of things and he's always trying to help out. He repeats things. He's always laughing at stupid jokes. He's kind of naive.

TEEN BEAT: Why is he nicknamed Mush?

AARON: The director, Kenny Ortega, said that the complexion of my skin is like oatmeal, so they called my character Mush!

TEEN BEAT: Is he like you in real life?

AARON: Yes, I guess so. I look on the bright side of things. I'm always positive and laugh a lot.

TEEN BEAT: Were there any funny things that happened on the set while you were filming?

AARON: Oh, yes. Like, David Moscow and a couple of other guys, we were going to throw buckets of water from the top of the World building on Kenny but somehow he saw the water coming and ran out of the way and he got squirt guns and started squirting everyone. It was fun.

TEEN BEAT: What was the average age of the actors on the set

AARON: Most of the actors were around 19 years old.

TEEN BEAT: Was it fun filming at Universal Studios?

AARON: It was fun and it was convenient, because I live in Los Angeles.

TEEN BEAT: What was the best part about it?

AARON: Kenny Ortega is the best. He listens to you and he's like a kid. It was fun.

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Trey Parker - Interview by Teen Beat

TEEN BEAT: Tell us about your Newsies character, Kid Blink.

TREY PARKER: They call him that because he has a patch over his left eye.

TEEN BEAT: How'd he lose his eye?

TREY: I just tell people he was born that way, but in real life, there was a Kid Blink and he wore a patch and it was like, a handicap to sell. He wore a patch to make him look helpless.

TEEN BEAT: Was Newsies a fun movie to make?

TREY: It was incredible!

TEEN BEAT: How was the cast?

TREY: I've never worked with a better cast. We were like a big family. All the producers and directors-everybody involved-were so close

TEEN BEAT: For how long did the movie film?

TREY: We worked for almost seven months.

TEEN BEAT: When the film wrapped, what did you do to celebrate

TREY: We had a party at one of the guys' houses and we made a scrapbook for the director and for other people who worked on the film.

TEEN BEAT: How'd you get into acting?

TREY: I did little things in Alabama. I was born and raised there. Then I moved to New York. Then I started dancing. I did a few commercials and then I did mainly theater. I played John in Peter Pan.

TEEN BEAT: How'd you start dancing?

TREY: When I was 7 or 8, my best friend and I used to turn on the TV to Soul Train and we used to mimic the dancers. My sister took classes and I'd go and watch her. I just picked it up. Then, in New York, I started training.

TEEN BEAT: Do you sing too?

TREY: Yes. To tell the truth I have a group and we're trying to get our stuff together. The group's called EYC (Express Yourself Clearly ). I'm just gonna be the Bo Jackson of entertainment! [Trey starts laughing]. I'm willing to commit myself to it--I think it can be done.

TEEN BEAT: Give us the final overall view.

TREY: I think the movie is a really cool film and I think a lot of people will like it!

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Marty Belafsky - Interview by Teen Beat

TEEN BEAT: We hear the cast of Newsies was close. Did you guys hang out socially?

MARTY BELAFSKY: Yes. Sometimes we'd go out and see a movie. A bunch of us would do paint color wars. We'd dress up in army clothes and go out in the fields and have paint color wars.

TEEN BEAT: If you had to move from California, where would you move to?

MARTY: My mom's from Chicago. I like Chicago.

TEEN BEAT: Newsies is the first major role you've had in a feature film. How'd you feel when you got the part?

MARTY: I was thrilled. I was so happy to work with Kenny again. We'd worked together on Hull High.

MARTY: I want to direct. I'd like to follow in the footsteps of Ron Howard. I want to go to film school at USC.

TEEN BEAT: What is one goal that you'd like to accomplish in your lifetime?

MARTY: I'd like to have a family and settle down. That's kind of weird coming from a teenager!

TEEN BEAT: What era would you visit if you fell into a time machine?

MARTY: Probably the '50s because I'm curious to see how everything worked back then.

TEEN BEAT: What do you like most about acting?

MARTY: Just the feel of doing it. I like being up there and I like the attention! I simply like making people laugh and cry.

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Arvie Lowe Jr. - Interview by Teen Beat

TEEN BEAT: Tell us about your Newsies character, Boots.

ARVIE LOWE, JR.: His name is Benjamin Arvis.

TEEN BEAT: How'd he get his nickname Boots?

ARVIE: He used to shine shoes when his mom was still with him. When his mom passed away, he couldn't make it because shining shoes didn't pay well. So, Jack Kelly (Christian Bale's character) asked if my character wanted to sell papers too. But since my character loves shoes, they call him Boots.

TEEN BEAT: You're a dancer. How'd you start dancing?

ARVIE: Well, I attended the Regina School Of Performing Arts and I learned to dance with my buddies at school.

TEEN BEAT: Would you want to try your hand at a career in music

ARVIE: I don't know. I think I might want to.

TEEN BEAT: How'd you get into acting?

ARVIE: I was taped at a birthday party at the Regina School of Performing Arts and they showed this tape of me dancing to an agent and the agent wanted me to audition for this agency and I got it. On my first audition I got a job.

TEEN BEAT: What was the job?

ARVIE: It was called Box Office Funny. It turned out to be a movie.

TEEN BEAT: And you toured Europe.

ARVIE: For Reebok. I brought a friend. We're a dance team.

TEEN BEAT: Where do you see yourself in five years?

ARVIE: Probably in high school, doing what I do best--drawing characters and creating.

TEEN BEAT: Is there any one thing you want to say to your fans?

ARVIE: Go see Newsies!

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Max Casella (2005) - clip from the Doogie Howser M.D. Season 2 DVD interview (This is a great interview about his entire career, but I only typed up the part about Newsies, so if you are a Max fan, I would consider watching the entire thing.)

MAX: Newsies was the first movie I’d ever done, and it was a huge, production and a musical. And I was so excited about the whole thing, being it was my first movie, and it was such a big production. We had to rehearse and train, dance-wise, for I think, two to three months before we even started shooting. And you know, it was all young guys, and we were having a great time together. So I mean, it couldn’t have been a more fun, exciting, experience.